Podcasts

The iTunes Store has an extraordinary selection of podcasts—from news to sports, music to philosophy, and more. Its vast catalog and its automatic downloads make it easy to follow your favorites. Read this chapter to learn how to sample, play, subscribe to, and manage podcasts.

Podcasts Topics

How Do I Sample a Podcast?

How Do I Subscribe to a Podcast?

What about Alternative Podcast Apps?

How Do I Manage Podcasts?

How Should I Sync My Podcasts?

How Do I Sync Podcasts through My iTunes Store Account?

What Are Podcast Stations?

How Do I Create a Podcast Station?

How Do I Customize a Podcast Station?

How Do I Use Podcast Library Views?

How Do I Sample a Podcast?

Taking a podcast out for a test run is simple and a logical first step before committing to a subscription.

To see the catalog of podcasts available, choose Podcasts in the Media Picker and then click Store on the navigation bar. The iTunes Store opens, showing its main podcast view. Look around to find a podcast episode that interests you. (If aren’t sure what to try, check out The Next Track, shown in Figure 43, a podcast about how people listen to music today, which I host with Doug Adams.)

You can download an episode or stream it:

• Download: Click the Get button to the right of its listing. (All podcasts are free, though it’s possible that, one day, there will be paid podcasts.) After the episode downloads, you can listen to it from iTunes even if you don’t have an Internet connection or sync it to an iOS device and listen to it with the Podcasts app. To find it, open the Media Picker and choose Podcasts, click Library on the navigation bar, and select Podcasts in the sidebar. Your download appears at the top of the podcasts list.
• Stream: Hover over the name of an episode, and then click the Play button that displays to the left of its name.

How Do I Subscribe to a Podcast?

If you’ve sampled a podcast, as described just previously, and think you’ll want to listen to it regularly, you can simplify the download process by subscribing to it:

• Subscribe from a downloaded episode: Control-click (right-click) the episode’s listing in iTunes and choose Go To > Podcast in iTunes Store to view the podcast’s page in the iTunes Store. Then follow the instructions in the bullet item just below.
• Subscribe from the iTunes Store: Find the podcast’s page in the iTunes Store, and then click the Subscribe button that’s just below its icon. This adds the podcast to your Podcasts library, and tells iTunes to check for new episodes as they are posted. Follow the directions in Choosing Update Settings for a Podcast, ahead shortly, to customize your subscription.

What about Alternative Podcast Apps?

If you’re frustrated with how iTunes and the Podcasts app handle pod­casts, you should look into alternative apps. Some, such as Downcast, offer both macOS and iOS apps, so you can easily manage podcasts on your Mac and on your iOS device. Or, if you listen to podcasts only in iOS, try Overcast. This app lets you sync subscriptions and episodes, and has an efficient feature that speeds up podcasts without making them sound like chipmunk conventions. It’s what I use for most of my podcast listening.

How Do I Manage Podcasts?

If you listen to podcasts on just one Mac, or if you listen on one Mac but sync to an iPod (a shuffle or nano) that doesn’t use iOS, the basics of managing podcasts hasn’t changed much in recent years and is fairly straightforward. Just sync podcast episodes to your iOS device through iTunes.

Things get more complex if you listen on an iOS device and a desktop computer running iTunes that both sync individually to your iTunes account. You may find this process confusing, because in some cases you don’t download episodes, and in iOS you must use the Podcasts app. It’s much harder to keep a curated podcast library—including old episodes.

Choosing Update Settings for a Podcast

If you’ve subscribed to a podcast that you like on the iTunes Store, and want to keep getting episodes as they are posted, tell iTunes to download them for you automatically.

To change the settings for just one podcast:

1. Choose Podcasts from the Media Picker, click Library in the navigation bar, and select Podcasts near the top of the sidebar. If iTunes is set to show the default List view for podcasts, you see a new column next to the sidebar that lists the podcasts in your iTunes library (Figure 44).

   

2. In the podcasts column, click the name of a podcast to select it. The podcast’s header appears at the right. In the header, click the Settings icon following the name of the podcast.

   A popover appears, offering several options for how iTunes manages and displays episodes from the podcast (Figure 45).

   

   Here’s what these settings let you choose:

   • Play, Sort Order: These self-explanatory options do what they say they’ll do. For instance, you can choose to sort the episodes with newest or oldest on top.
   • Subscribed: This toggle switch is On when you’ve subscribed to a podcast. To unsubscribe, but keep all the episodes you’ve downloaded, click to toggle it Off. (You can also unsubscribe from a podcast by Control-clicking its name in the podcasts list and choosing Unsubscribe Podcast.)
   • Limit Episodes: You can limit the number of episodes that iTunes downloads and stores. Select a number—most recent, or the 2, 3, 5, or 10 most recent—or a duration: 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, or 1 month.
   • Download Episodes: Choose On or Off.
   • Delete Played Episodes: This pop-up menu lets you choose to have iTunes delete podcast episodes that you’ve listened to 24 hours after they’ve been played. You can turn this setting On or Off.
3. Once you’ve made your choices, click Done to save them and close the Podcast Settings popover.

iTunes now downloads, displays, plays, and deletes episodes based on your choices.

If you’d rather use the same settings for all your podcasts, click the Defaults button below the podcasts list. (If you view your podcasts in Classic List mode—see How Do I Use Podcast Library Views?—click the Settings button at the bottom of the window.)

In the Podcast Defaults dialog, you can choose when iTunes checks for new episodes (Refresh Every Hour, Every 6 Hours, Every Day, Every Week, or Manually); how many episodes it keeps; whether it automatically downloads episodes or not; and whether iTunes auto-deletes played episodes. When you make a change in the dialog and click the OK button, iTunes applies those settings to all your podcasts, but you can override these default settings by choosing specific settings for any one podcast, as shown just above.

In general, you’ll probably want to use the same settings for all your podcasts, but there may be exceptions. For example, I usually like to have iTunes delete episodes after I’ve listened to them, but I want to save Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion episodes, which contain his wonderful “News from Lake Wobegon” monologues. I’ve set that podcast to keep all episodes by changing its settings after configuring the options in the Podcast Defaults dialog. (Alas, at the time of this writing, Garrison Keillor recently ended his decades-long run of the show and there won’t be any more episodes.)

Refreshing Podcasts

You’ve seen just above that you can tell iTunes to check for new episodes automatically. But you can also do this manually, if you’re hankering for something to listen to. To do this from any view in the Podcasts library, click the Refresh button at the bottom of the window. This will not only check for and download new episodes, but can also force iTunes to sync information about your podcasts library.

Deleting Podcasts

If you’ve unsubscribed from a podcast by Control-clicking its name and choosing Unsubscribe Podcast, or through the Podcast Settings popover, you may now want to delete the episodes from your iTunes library. To do this, click Podcasts in the sidebar, and then click the name of the podcast in the podcast column. Press the Delete key. Con­firm your choice by clicking the Delete button. Finally, iTunes asks if you want to keep the episodes or move them to the Trash. Click Move to Trash.

Adding a Podcast That You’ve Downloaded

To add a downloaded podcast episode (or episodes) to your iTunes library, choose File > Add to Library, select the file (or files) and click the Open button. (For more techniques and tips, read How Do I Add Files I Own to iTunes?.)

iTunes most likely sees the added files as music files (so they’ll appear in your Music library, in the Recently Added pane), but you can use a simple trick to add them to your Podcasts library:

1. Select the files, and press Command-I to display the Info dialog.
2. In the Options pane, from the Media Kind pop-up menu, choose Podcast.
3. In the Details pane, if you don’t see the correct name in the Podcast field, enter the name in that field.
4. Click OK.

Now, to access the podcast, choose Podcasts in the Media Picker and select podcasts in the sidebar. It appears in the podcasts list, with the name you added in the Podcast field.

How Should I Sync My Podcasts?

If you want to sync podcasts to an iPod that doesn’t run iOS, such as a shuffle or nano, you must use an iTunes sync—flip ahead to How Do I Connect My Device to iTunes?.

Otherwise, you can sync podcasts with an iOS device either through an iTunes sync (Wi-Fi or USB) or through the cloud via your iTunes Store account:

• Reasons for syncing via iTunes: An iTunes sync tends to be more reliable. Also, if you’ve downloaded podcast episodes to your Mac and you sync them to your iOS device, you won’t need to down­load them on the latter device.
• Reasons for syncing through the iTunes Store: This method is the right choice if you also want to download podcasts directly to your iOS device. I explain how just ahead.

How Do I Sync Podcasts through My iTunes Store Account?

Read the previous topic to see whether this is the right method for you. To sync podcasts through the cloud via your iTunes Store account:

1. On a Mac or in Windows (or both), open the iTunes preferences, click Store, and then select “Sync podcast subscriptions and settings.” If you’d like to be able to pause a podcast on one computer or device and pick it up on another, also select “Sync playback information across devices.” Click OK.
2. In iOS, open Settings > Podcasts and turn on the Sync Podcasts switch. You may also wish to limit episode downloads to when you can download over a Wi-Fi connection, in order to reduce your mobile broadband usage. To do so, in Settings > Podcasts, enable Only Download on Wi-Fi.

What Are Podcast Stations?

Podcast stations are basically podcast playlists with a fancy name. To see these, select Podcasts in the Media Picker, click Library on the nav­igation bar, and then select Stations in the sidebar. By default, iTunes includes a Most Recent podcast station that shows the most recent episode—only one—from each podcast in your library. But you can tweak this station, and you can create your own.

One useful way to use stations is to group different types of podcasts. For example, you might make one for news, another for tech topics, another for fun, and one more for learning. Or, you could create a separate station for video podcasts. Or, perhaps one for podcasts that your kids can listen to from an iOS device in a car.

Podcast stations offer a user-friendly graphical interface that makes setting them up a snap.

How Do I Create a Podcast Station?

To set up your own station:

1. With Podcasts chosen in the Media Picker and Library selected in the navigation bar, select Stations in the sidebar.
2. Click the New button at the bottom of the stations list.

   A view for your station appears, with “untitled station” highlighted and the Station Settings panel at the right.

3. Type a name for your station in place of “untitled station.”
4. In the Station Settings panel, select the podcasts that you want to include in your new station.
5. At the bottom of the Station Settings panel, click Show Settings to see Station Settings at the top of the panel.
6. Set up your station’s settings (for help, refer to Step 4, next topic).
7. At the bottom of the Station Settings panel, click Done.

Your new station appears at the top of the stations list.

How Do I Customize a Podcast Station?

It’s easy to customize a station. These steps use the built-in Most Recent station as an example, but you can follow them for any station:

1. With Podcasts chosen in the Media Picker and Library selected in the navigation bar, select Stations in the sidebar.
2. In the stations list, select the station that you want to customize.
3. Click the Settings icon at the right of the station’s header to open the Station Settings panel (Figure 46).

   

4. Use the controls in the panel to customize the station:
   1. Which order? You can choose Newest to Oldest, Oldest to Newest, Manual (where you drag the podcasts in the order you want), or “My Podcast” Order, which is the order in which your podcasts display when you click Podcasts in the sidebar.
   2. Which episodes? The Include pop-up menu defaults to Most Recent Episode; you can include more than just one, if you wish, by choosing a different option from the menu.
   3. Which kinds of podcasts? The Media Type is set to All initially, but you can choose Audio Only or Video Only.
   4. Played or not? “Unplayed only” is unchecked by default. You probably want to check this box so this station contains only podcasts you haven’t listened to or watched.
   5. Which podcasts? The bottom section lets you select which podcasts to include in the station. To include all podcasts, toggle the Off/On switch to On. Otherwise, if you set it to Off, you can select the podcasts you want to include by clicking the circle next to each one’s name.
5. Click the Done button at the bottom of the panel to save your changes.

How Do I Use Podcast Library Views?

For the most part, all iTunes content displays in similar ways (see View, later in this book). However, podcasts are the exception.

To view your podcasts, click the Media Picker and choose Podcasts, and then in the center of the navigation bar, click Library. Now, from the sidebar, select Podcasts.

With Podcasts selected, you can pick either List or Classic List view from The View Options Window (Command-J). Here’s what you can do in each view.

List View

This default view shows all the podcasts in your iTunes library, whether you’ve subscribed to them or downloaded individual episodes. It displays in a sort of expanded list, similar to that of Artists view for music (Figure 47).

Each podcast has an entry in a column to the right of the sidebar, sim­ilar to that of Artists or Genres view for music. If you click a podcast in this column, you see a header for the podcast at the right, with a list of episodes beneath. In the header, click Unplayed to see episodes that are downloaded but not played, and click Feed to see a full list of avail­able episodes.

If an episode isn’t already downloaded, a Download icon appears at the right of its listing. Click the Download icon to download it.

To play an episode, double-click its entry in the episode list. If the episode is not yet downloaded, it will stream.

In the case of a podcast you’ve subscribed to, you cannot delete older episodes from the Feed list even if you no longer care about them. You can delete episodes you’ve downloaded from the Unplayed list, but they don’t disappear from the Feed list.

You may want to change the order in which your podcasts appear; you can do this The View Options Window. You can choose to sort podcasts by Playlist Order, Podcast Title, or Recent Update. If you choose Playlist Order, iTunes orders your podcasts based on when you subscribed to them, newest first.

Classic List View

Classic List view shows a text-only list of your podcasts (Figure 48). Each one has a disclosure triangle to the left of its name; click that triangle to expand the list and see all the episodes.

Classic List view is useful if you want to sift through a collection of podcasts and decide what to keep and what to delete. It’s easy to see the titles, durations, and descriptions of the episodes.

Classic List view offers many options, similar to Songs view for music. Press Command-J to open The View Options Window to choose whether or not to display artwork, as well as which columns to display. In Classic List view, you can sort podcasts only by Release Date.